KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian peacekeepers in Lebanon can engage in gunfire exchange with Israeli armed forces only if attacked, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
The Defence Minister said that this was permitted as part of the force protection by personnel under United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).
"As protection measures, they will be allowed to fire back but only in self defence and not in offensive attack as this is not allowed.
"This is because they are there as peacekeepers and allowed to defend themselves if attacked," he said when responding to a question raised by Datuk Seri Ikmal Abdul Aziz (PN-Tanah Merah) in Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Oct 17).
He said there are currently a total of 853 personnel and officers from Malaysia serving under Malaysian Battalion 850-11 (Malbatt 850-11) in southern Lebanon.
He added that Malbat 850-11 is part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) which has 10,058 personnel from 50 nations serving as peacekeepers.
The current batch of Malaysian soldiers are those serving Unifil between Nov 14, 2023 and Nov 14 this year.
He noted that Malaysia has been involved in peacekeeping operations in southern Lebanon since 2007 under Unifil.
Asked about the safety of Malaysian personnel, Khaled said that they are currently safe within their respective bases.
"No loss of lives or property has so far been reported," he said.
Presently, he said Unifil has ordered its personnel to stop going out on patrols and to remain under protection in their respective bases.
In the event of serious injuries, Khaled said that Malaysia soldiers would be treated at the Unifil operating theatre located about an hour away from the Malbatt base.
He said that there are currently medical personnel at the base who will be able to provide level two medical treatment in the event of injuries.
Khaled acknowledged that the situation in southern Lebanon had worsened including incidents of exchange of fire between Unifil peacekeepers from Indonesia and Sri Lanka and Israel Defence Force (IDF).
However, he said that any decision to withdraw Malaysia personnel from southern Lebanon cannot be done unilaterally but must be a decision from Unifil.
Nevertheless, he said evacuation plans exist in the event that an order to withdraw is given.
On Oct 14, Khaled, in a statement, said that the government will decide on further action involving Malaysian peacekeepers in Lebanon after holding discussions with Unifil.
The statement comes in the wake of five Unifil personnel who were injured in multiple incidents involving attacks by Israeli forces at Unifil headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon.
On Wednesday (Oct 16), Unifil said that its peacekeepers near southern Lebanon’s Kfar Kila observed an Israeli Merkava tank deliberately firing at their watchtower, resulting in the destruction of two cameras and damage to the structure.
On Sunday (Oct 13), Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations to immediately pull out its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon as fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah intensified.
